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On the way to work today, as often happens, my lane of freeway traffic suddenly slammed to a halt. I was able to stop in time, but it was close and was just starting to give a shakey bit o'thanks when I was slammed into from behind (twice), which slammed me into the car in front of me. Four cars involved.... everyone ok. Dents and some damage to all the cars.

Great start to my day, right?

So now it's after work (10:30pm) and my car won't start. Indications are that it's likely the starter. There are a lot of people around, enough so I could likely ask someone to jumpstart the car. If it is the starter, would a jumpstart get me going or should I just cut to the chase and have the car towed home?

The battery seems fine- checked it and it's still solidly in place. Besides that, I still have interior/exterior lights. I should have mentioned this, but I've had intermittent starting problems for the last couple of weeks. I've taken it to the mechanic a couple of times, but of course things were fine when I got there.

Thanks John, I appreciate the help. As it happens, both the battery and the alternator are new (couple of months). Corrosion is something I've had to deal with on this car and learned a long time ago to take care of it before it becomes a problem. Your sealing tip is something I didn't know about tho- I will do that for sure!

I finally sucked it up and called a tow truck. Oh man, I hate car problems!

Well, I am home now. The tow guy was cool and knew his stuff. The problem is the starter, but he was able to do the jumpstart-thing. Hopefully the mechanic won't be taking Monday off and they will be able to fit me in. If not, I will have a good excuse to stay home and get a ton of reading done.

I remember the tap the solenoid with a hammer days to get ol' bessie started, or jump the solenoid with a screwdriver directly from the starter terminal. When I was working i never let a vehicle go out of warrenty, I needed to protect my means of making money. Sounds like it's starting to nickle and dime you.

What kind of vehicle? If they jumped it and it started it is not the starter unless it is an interm problem and it was by chance it started. When you turn the key, did it make any noise? Rapid clicking or try to start but never fired? I have been a dealership service tech/manager for 12yrs so maybe i can help

- battery is less than 2 mos. old... no corrosion, battery cables fine

- was doing the one-click thing for awhile, not the clickclickclick thing, had lights interior and exterior

- my cool tow truck driver was an old fart like me who knew cars like my dad did and he went to some lengths to save me the tow charge I was expecting to pay. Used a crow bar to reach the starter waaaay down under everything and pounded away until the engine turned over.

- out of warranty? Yup.

- nickel and dime-ing? Quite likely. Stupid old car, but it's been great over the long haul. I love it.

The upshot: I now know that a jumpstart works for a starter problem, but given the effort this guy put into it, it was good I didn't ask a passerby for a jump.

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